Foreign Aid
by Lydea
Summary: America, a confident, naive country has been acting a bit off. Will the meek, kindhearted Canada be able to help his brother or will America's hardheadedness get the best of him? No slash, just brotherly love.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note: In this canon, Canada and America are brothers. I'm trying to stay as close to the series as possible so no slash, and no human names. I have** **more of this particular fic on my computer, so if you like it, review and I'll post more. **  
><em>

_*Bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt bzzzt*_

Canada gracefully lifted his arm and pressed the snooze button with just enough force for the alarm clock to stop all while keeping his head face down in his pillow.

_Just a few more minutes and then..._

His thoughts were interrupted by an epiphany as he quickly sat up.

_That's right! America is coming over today!_

With a smile on his face he gently nudged the white mass of fur next to him.

"Kumatento, it's time to wake up."

"I'm Kumajirou"

The white bear murmured his correct name to Canada while lethargically rolling over to face his owner.

"Who are you?"

Canada had grown accustom to the morning greeting and answered like clockwork.

"I'm Canada, and you need to get up now so we can be ready when America gets here."

With a sparkle in his eye and a bounce to his step, Canada slid on his glasses and proceeded downstairs to the kitchen while his hungry, furry companion followed suit.

Despite his loud boisterous attitude, annoying laugh, ignorance toward world geography, bad taste, egocentric agenda and crude language; Canada really did enjoy his bordering country's company. He could be a little rough sometimes,

_memories flashed of being hit in various locations by a very fast baseball_

but at least he was being acknowledged. Ok, so maybe it wasn't brotherly companionship at first sight, but America had grown on him. I mean, America was his only bordering country, his only brother. America had his moments, he wasn't a complete jerk. Though his actions were sometimes a bit hasty, his intentions were mostly in the right place.

At this point, Canada was in the kitchen mixing a delicious pancake batter while Kumajirou nudged his feet. He carefully poured the batter onto the skillet and watched as the pancake batter formed a perfectly round circle. He poured two more, exactly the same size as the first, and smiled as the delicious aroma of pancakes wafted through the air.

There wasn't a better smell in the world than fresh pancakes in the morning, except for maybe fresh pancakes covered in maple syrup.

* * *

><p>America wasn't an early riser, to put it nicely, but today was different.<p>

He looked at the clock again, 6:24, and sighed. This sucked, the third time he had woken up that morning and the sun still hadn't risen. What was up with the morning? It's like everything was moving slower just to mess with him. Oh well, rolling around in bed wasn't going to change the earth's rotation or anything.

America yawned loudly and rose slowly, like a zombie, to his feet. His eyes barely open, he groped his nightstand for his glasses, nearly knocking off the clock.

He had something to do today, he knew it, but just wasn't entirely sure what. He racked his sleep clogged mind for a clue. There wasn't any world conference today; maybe a good hearty breakfast would jog his memory. He sluggishly moved toward the kitchen.

It was so weird being up before the sun, nothing felt right to him. He briefly thought about going back to bed but the thought of food seemed much more appealing. He had stayed up late playing an awesome new game Japan had given to him and didn't get to bed till midnight. He had beaten the game and planned to bring it to Canada's house today to figure out the multiplayer side.

_That's it!_

He finally remembered he was going to Canada's house today. He had initially planned for it to be an afternoon get together but since he was up so early he might as well leave early. He still felt worn from the abnormal morning but decided to shake it off in order to get to Canada's house in time for pancakes.

Picking up the pace back to his bedroom, America wondered aloud what the comparably meek nation was up to.

"I bet the weirdo gets up at six every morning."

America proclaimed loudly to no one.

Funny thoughts of the quiet nation eating whale blubber or whatever commenting on 'what a beautiful sight watching the sun rise was, eh?' filled America's head. He chuckled.

Nah, Canada was a nice place, and a nice country. He was a little boring, okay a lot boring compared to himself, but he was always real friendly, sometimes too friendly for his own good.

America opened his closet and grabbed a long sleeved shirt with 'AMERICA, Home of the Whopper' printed on it and some pants. He quickly put them on over his boxers and t-shirt all while imagining Canada's surprise when he shows up at seven.

After he had dressed, America grabbed Super Smash Brothers Brawl and went to get the keys to his Ford Ranger. He went through the living room to his front door, undoing the chain lock.

Shit, it was cold out. Like, there should be a law against it being this cold. He made a mental note to bring it up at the next meeting while quickly moving to his Ford. Key in the ignition, he cranked the engine and immediately blasted the heater.

Big mistake. America was blasted in the face with an icy hurricane. Teeth chattering, he turned the heater down and tore out of the driveway. Slowly, the truck warmed up, but his chattering had yet to subside.

America turned the radio down and cleared his throat. He usually loved to play his music as loudly as possible, but decided that it must be the cause of his slight headache.

* * *

><p>*<em>WHOP WHOP WHOP*<em>

The sudden sound made Canada jump.

"Aagh!"

He gave a quiet yelp as he accidently flipped his pancake over his head and onto the floor. He hastily bent over to pick the pancake up to throw it away as another loud knock on the door filled his house.

*_**WHAM WHAM***_

"C-Coming!"

Canada whimpered.

Kumajirou had already started trudging to the door, curiosity outweighing his hunger. Canada followed him glancing at the time, 7:22.

_Surely America wouldn't be here this early... he rarely gets up before-_

Canada's thoughts were interrupted as his door slammed open before he could reach it. America stood shivering in the doorway for a moment before immediately moving forward into Canada's house, all the while tracking in snow.

"SHIT it's cold out there; how the hell do you live in the middle of a gigantic freezer like this? You should seriously consider installing some-"

America was cut off mid sentence after stumbling over the small white bear and meeting the wooden floor face on.

Kumajirou gave a delayed "Ow."

Canada stared for a few moments before letting out a slight laugh.

"He heh, Are you alright America?"

Canada closed his front door, being sure to lock it, and kneeled by his brother after not receiving a response. What a clumsy oaf. Canada poked his brother and pushed his head so he could see America's face. Canada gasped when he came face to face with a bloody mess.

"Eww." Kumajirou remarked.

Eww was right. Canada was about to get up to go get a rag when America grunted. America's eyes fluttered open and he quickly stood up.

"Woah, what the hell?"

"You tripped over Kumarama, you should-

"Kumajirou" Piped the bear.

really be more careful." Canada answered while standing.

"Oh." Remarked America as he brought his fingers to his upper lip to inspect the nose bleed.

Canada sighed, wondering how much his brother had heard. "I'll go get you a rag."

Canada walked back to the kitchen followed by a slightly confused America. Canada noticed the pancakes on the skillet and quickly flipped them before they could burn. He then searched through his cabinet under the sink and grabbed one of the newer rags. He ran the white cloth under the faucet briefly, rung it, and turned to hand it to America who was sitting at his kitchen table.

"Thanks bro." America uttered as he began wiping under his nose with the rag.

Canada sat across from his brother and addressed him.

"You got here early; I thought you weren't coming until later."

Canada wasn't upset by his brother's less than graceful entrance that morning. If anything he was thankful he had the company earlier than expected.

"Yeah, well I woke up early." America stated matter-of-factly. "I thought I'd surprise you by coming early. Man this reeks. Tell your bear to move next time, will ya?"

Kumajirou replied, "Jerk."

America's headache had managed to turn into a full blown migraine; and there was still that worn out feeling he'd been trying to shake all morning. He cleared his throat as he pulled away the rag and put his fingers to his nose, which was still running warm blood. He leaned his head forward and pinched his nose with the rag.

Canada stood up to tend to his breakfast. The two pancakes that were left were cooked perfectly and he slid them onto a plate. Canada then picked up his batter bowl and poured four more pancakes watching them form into circles.

"Would you like some pancakes?" Canada asked even though he knew the answer.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure. Man, it's like negative a billion degrees out there-"

"Maybe you should wear a jacket..." Canada interjected, but remained unnoticed.

"Oh, I brought over this game I think you'd like. Do you have ketchup to go with those?"

This last inquiry was referring to the pancakes. Canada made a 'grossed out' face and answered. "If you must, I might have some in the fridge."

"Great! There is no greater breakfast then one covered in ketchup. Or lunch, or dinner."

America cleared his throat after making the ludicrous claim and rested his head on the table.

Canada glanced back and brought up the game America had mentioned earlier, not wanting his brother to get bored. That and he enjoyed the energy.

"What game did you bring? Is it multiplayer?" Canada inquired.

"Oh yeah, it's super cool!" America immediately perked up and went on jabbering. "It's a sequel to the Smash Brother Series, only this time it's on Wii and there are a lot of new characters like Sonic and stuff and there's this really sweet new mode called Subspace Emissary that lets you watch these really cool movie clips and fight a whole lot of bad guys at once, which I'm totally great at, and there's these bosses at the end of..."

Canada smiled as he listened to his brother ramble on about the pros and cons of the bosses and etcetera. The pancakes were just about finished.

Canada had heard of the series but hadn't played it often. He vaguely remembered the time when America had brought over the first installment on Nintendo 64.

It was nice when he came over.

"some of the levels, but it's hard to know when they'll come because every level is different. But when it does come you see this cool movie and most times you get another player added to your team, which I think is controlled with a two player remote, and then you can pick between a lot of different teams if you want to replay levels to get the bonus stuff. Woah, smells good bro! Is it finished yet?

America had been holding his nose with the rag during most of the monologue but removed it when he didn't feel anymore blood. When he removed the rag he was greeted by the smell of the fresh pancakes Canada had been hovering over the entire time.

America tossed the rag in the sink as he got up to inspect the breakfast.

"Yep! They're done." Canada answered as he slid one more pancake on the previous two he had made and the rest on a separate plate.

"Great! Now to find that ketchup..."

America started hunting through Canada's fridge for his favorite condiment forcefully moving around the other food stuffs.

"Aha!"

America emerged proudly with the plastic red bottle in his hands and sat back down at the table, which now had two plates of pancakes on it.

Canada grabbed the maple syrup out of the still open fridge and joined his brother who had already begun covering his plate in the red goo. Canada attempted to match America's gusto with his own plastic bottle smothering his pancakes in maple syrup.

America saw his brother empty just as much if not more maple on his plate than he himself had with ketchup. So he dumped more on.

The brothers kept adding more of their condiments until it were a matter of who could squeeze the bottles harder instead of what their particular tastes were. Projectile maple syrup and ketchup aimed toward the pancakes mounted with incredible speed until there were two towers of the condiments.

The countries kept squeezing with the same gusto until the bottles simultaneously ran out.

The scene was quite odd. America and Canada were standing at opposite ends of the table with their now empty plastic bottles. The table was effectively coated with the slimy mix of maple syrup and ketchup which was cascading off the table and onto the floor like a waterfall in some areas. Kumajirou was taking advantage of the pooling maple syrup, happily licking up the sugary stuff. Fierce looks of determination were still glued to the countries faces for a few moments after the bottles ran out.

Canada was the first to come out of the sibling rivalry infused contest and notice the ridiculous situation he was in.

"He.. heh heh.."

His face broke out into a huge smile and he started bending over from laughter.

"Hahahaha.. your... your face and... hahahahaha I... I just kept haha going... hahahaha and then you... heheh did too.. hahahaha."

America just smiled and shrugged. He sat down, careful not to touch the sticky table, and watched his brother. He was happy that Canada was happy.

_Even though I would have won if they were bigger bottles..._

But he decided to keep the thought to himself to allow Canada to enjoy the moment.

Canada soon recovered, sanity kicking back in, and moved to grab a rag to start wiping the table and floor. But the smile never left his face. To Canada's disgust, he witnessed America eating the mess on his plate.

"I can make more; you know... you don't have to eat that."

"What are you talking about? This is just how I like 'em,"

America had started picking at the pancakes. Not shoving them down his throat as was his usual manner, but tenderly picking at them and moving small forkfuls into his mouth. It's not like he found them unappetizing or anything, he had just sprouted this uneasy feeling in his stomach.

Canada just sported a quick laugh and gave a "Whatever you like" and kept cleaning the table. He moved from one side to the other systematically, making several trips to the sink to ring out the sticky stuff. When he had finished, America was done eating. Or so Canada presumed by the way he was leaning back in his chair. He had only eaten one of the ketchup soaked pancakes on his plate.

Canada placed the rag he had used to clean the kitchen in the sink along with the bloody white rag. He went back to the table, picking up both of the plates, and dumping their contents in the trash. He quickly rinsed them in the sink and left them there to wash later. He normally didn't like leaving any dishes in the sink but would make an exception for his brother's company. Speaking of which, his brother still hadn't spoken after the meal. He was just sitting there; his face grimaced, leaning back into the chair. Canada took his seat across from him.

"Are you alright?"

America cleared his throat. He still had that headache and now his nose itched. Not to mention that tiredness was slowly turning out to be more of an achy exhaustion. And he was thirsty. Very thirsty.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine."

America didn't want to look whiny in front of Canada. Canada was too much of a pushover for his own good, he'd probably start freaking out or something and then his bordering country wouldn't get to enjoy multiplayer mode.

"I'm just thirsty; do you have something to wash down that excellent breakfast, bro?"

Canada watched the transition carefully; his brother was certainly acting odd. He wondered briefly if he should press the question but didn't want to come off rude.

_It's his business I suppose._

But he was a little hurt that America was keeping something from him. No matter, still very pleased to have the company, Canada let the brief moment of scorn pass as quickly as it came on.

"Sure, is a coke alright?"

"Sounds perfect."


	2. Chapter 2

America watched intently as his brother turned to go back to the fridge. The moment he was sure Canada was out of earshot, America stifled a quick coughing fit into his fist.

_What was going on with him?_

The coughing amplified his headache.

There was no way he'd be around Canada acting like this, he should probably leave before...

_No! I am America! I never get sick and I am the most heroic, powerful nation in the world!_

He would kick Canada's butt at Super Smash Brothers then proceed to go home and pack things for his trip to Libya tomorrow. This world needed a leader, and there was no land greater than America, the beautiful! Rain or shine, America would always be that hero!

He stood up with gusto and it took a few seconds for the room to remain still enough for America to cross over into the living room. America knew that no matter what, he would be a leader and a role model for Canada, for his allies and for the entire world.

_This sucked balls._

America and Canada had been playing through Subspace Emissary mode, America playing as Captain Falcon and Canada hovering behind him as Kirby, for a few hours.

_This sucked major balls._

He cleared his throat loudly and tried to focus on the game. America had been sneaking coughing fits every time his brother would turn around. It was getting more and more difficult to speak or even breathe without going into a hacking frenzy. Even now his throat was screaming for water and his lungs pained sharply with each inhale. To make matters worse, he hadn't been able to breathe through his nose for a while now, forcing him to take more dry breaths through his slightly parted mouth. Despite his pain, he carefully attempted to hide any sound of congestion when he spoke. He definitely did not what Canada thinking he was some weakling that couldn't take care of himself. America was a hero, and being a hero was a twenty-four seven occupation.

But man his head ached.

After another particularly loud throat clearing, Canada had to make a mental effort not to keep stealing glances at his brother, but he looked again anyways. America was certainly uneasy. It was obvious he was struggling with something.

_I hope he's not bored with me again..._

"Ah, America? You wanna play a versus match?"

America didn't acknowledge Canada for a few seconds before sluggishly glancing towards him.

"I guess- *_ahem*_ I mean if you wa-a- AAahGSHUUUu!"

The sudden noise caused Canada's heart to skip a beat.

_He's so loud..._

"g-gesundheit. Are you okay?"

The sneeze had surprised America as much as it had startled Canada. America attempted to recover as quickly as possible, because there wasn't anything wrong and he didn't want his brother thinking otherwise.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? Would you pay attention to the game you're go-.. gonna-

Canada saw America's face slowly turn from a look of confidence to a painful grimace.

"Eckshew, gahCHEw!"

America couldn't stop; one after another a powerful sneezing fit had wretched his body, making him helpless. The sharp pain in his head erupted and his raw throat wailed in agony. If he had stopped sneezing for a moment a wheezing cough would merely replace it.

Canada had watched the outburst for a few moments before deciding to take action. America was sneezing forcefully into his hand. Without saying a word to America, who was still caught in a fury of sneezes, Canada went to grab the box of Kleenex in the bathroom. When he returned, America was rubbing the bridge of his nose, completely silent, looking very tired.

How had Canada not noticed before? It was so obvious to him now, the flushed nose, pale face and slight bags under his eyes. His brother was obviously ill. His coughs were deep, Canada hoped it wasn't anything terribly serious.

Thoughts were running through America's head like wild fire.

_What will he say if I can't snap out of this? What if he tells everyone else? I have to leave before he starts thinking things._

Only then did he notice Canada's discrete tissue gesture. He acknowledged Canada with a congested "thadks bro" and went to blow his nose. He realized that he was too clogged to make any process and instead only irritated his throat from all the pressure. He quickly cleared his throat a few times to try and alleviate the itch, but to no avail. America was soon caught in another stifled cough which slowly evolved into a productive coughing fit. It made a deep rumbling sound in his chest and was alarmingly painful.

Canada watched with increasing amounts of concern. His brother, the powerful America, was battling with something fierce. He was so strong, seemingly invincible at times; it never occurred to him that America could... could fall so ill. He was suddenly incredibly offended.

When America had finished he apprehensively looked towards Canada, fearing his brother's reaction. Canada seemed confused, maybe even a little hurt.

"You could have told me if you weren't feeling well, we could have just watched a movie or something. Then I wouldn't have kept bothering you because I thought you were getting bored."

America was initially surprised. Canada thought he was bored? Quickly, however, that surprise turned into mild frustration.

"Why would I ever go around saying sobethin like that?"

America changed his voice to a mocking tone.

"Oh, I'm just TOoo fragile to play video games Canada! Why don't you make a big frickin plate of flapjacks to get me back on my feet?"

"Well... well maybe if you weren't spraying mucus all over the place it wouldn't be a problem!"

"The LAST thing I need is advice from such a suck-up wuss!"

With that last biting statement, America got up, unlocked the door and slammed it open to the fierce scene of a snow storm in full swing. With his ridiculous strength he managed to slam the door behind him despite the large amount of snow and wind against the door.

_What a mindless stupid idiotic... HOSER!_

Canada sat on his sofa as tears slowly formed in his eyes.

_What right did America have to do that?_

Canada stared at the front door. Through the window he saw nothing less of a blizzard blurring its way through his front yard.

_What an idiot... _

This was so unfair. Why did America have to be so full of himself?

Canada got up to peer out the window, the snow was almost completely obstructing his view.

_His truck is probably buried..._

America was blasted by a flurry of snow and wind. He trudged forward straining to find even the slightest glint of red from his Toyota. He found the task near impossible, either from his mind splitting migraine or the thoughts plaguing his head.

_He really wanted to be honest with Canada; he just couldn't bear the thought of Canada seeing his brother as something so weak. Because America wasn't weak, right? He was never sick or worn out, always the opposite. He was a hero all the time. Whether a terrorist needed some whoop-ass or a third world country was in need, he was the best country to call on. Canada needed __**that**__ America, not this guy._

America started groping through the snow when an urge to cough came. Soon he was doubled over from the force of the congested cough pausing just long enough to catch a wheezy gasp of air.

_I just need to get back home. I'll sort this out as soon as I get back. Before Canada sees me, I'll be gone. I just have to get back, I have to..._

_He'll never drive through this._

Canada stood there, conflicted.

_I... I don't care if he doesn't get home. _

Guilt panged Canada just at the thought. In reality, he couldn't bear the idea even on a normal day. But today? It's hardly what Canada would call normal. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen America like this, if at all. He wiped away the tear forming in his eyes and tried to decide the best plan of action.

_What if he can't get to his truck? He might be trying to unbury it with his own hands... _

Canada grabbed his coat and located his snow shoes by the door.

_I don't want him to be any worse off._

The truth began to set in for Canada, he was incredibly sad. Not because America yelled at him, but because America's reaction was to get away from him. Canada wanted nothing more than to be inviting to the neighboring country and now, because of what Canada had said, America had literally ran away from him, into a blizzard.

Canada was the worst brother, ever.

_He might never come over again. Who would?_

But those were selfish thoughts. Right now, he had to make sure America was okay.

He pushed into the door with all his strength and stumbled in to the icy wind.

"A-America?"

He whimpered. He couldn't see anything. He walked a few frantically searching for anything. His eyes settled on a huge mass, America's truck, and waddled towards it.

"America?"

He voice rose slightly louder. He reached the truck and frantically tried to clear the windshield from snow. There was no one inside.

His heart began to beat frantically.

"AMERICA!?"

He yelled louder than he ever had before when he spotted a little swab of color buried snow some ten feet away. He made his way over as quickly as the blizzard would allow him and kneeled.

America was almost covered in a blanket of snow and wasn't moving.

Canada quickly unburied him and hoisted the hefty country over his shoulder.

The task would have been impossible under any other circumstances due to America's taste for hamburgers and no exercise, but somehow the sleight nation managed to get the country inside and close the front door.

Canada spread a blanket in front of his fireplace and laid America there. He lit a fire and went to grab several comforters and pillows. When he returned, America was still out of it, but his eyelids were beginning to flutter. Canada covered America and kneeled next to him. Americas face was alarmingly white and he had begun to shake violently.

"A-America? Can- can you hear me?"

America eyes crept open.

"Why am I... How did you... Damn!"

Out of habit, he immediately sat up but was met with a wave of pain and dizziness. America grimaced and fiercely grabbed his head.

"Maybe you should just lie down for a second."

Canada enforced the suggestion by carefully lowering America down onto a pillow he had brought. To his surprise the task was easy. He couldn't tell if America was obeying him or was too tired to do otherwise. Humiliated, cold and downright sick; America stared at Canada with anxious eyes, prying for answers. Canada answered the silent plea.

"I found you outside, you... you weren't moving. I suppose you passed out."

For a rare moment, America was speechless. After a few moments of studying Canada's worried expression America was, again, uncharacteristic. He sat up, this time slowly as to not aggravate light headedness, and began speaking to his brother on eye level.

"I'm sorry."

Canada felt tears began to pull at his eyes.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything and I'm sorry I tried to conceal anything. But I'm really sorry for what I said..."

Canada now had tears streaming down both eyes. America looked sternly at Canada

"Geez, bro, better stop, you're starting to look like a total sissy."

Canada couldn't help smiling while he quickly buried his head in his hands to wipe away the tears.

"Sorry, sorry. Continue."

When he was done drying his eyes Canada noticed his brother wasn't gazing up at him anymore. America was quickly losing color again and his eyes were fluttering. He was having trouble sitting up and slowly swayed backwards on his elbows. This seemed to go by unnoticed to America who was currently trying his best at sounding confident.

"Yeah, I didn't mean to yell at ya. You just.. just caught me.. off... guard."

"I honestly, sincerely didn't mean to pry or make you feel uncomfortable."

Canada held the back of his hand to America's forehead. He felt warm.

America endured the dizzy spell and begun regaining his composure just as Canada left to grab a thermometer, just to be sure.

America had apologized, but he'd rather show it through actions.

"K, so I'll just get out of your hair now."

He slowly rose to his feet mentally fighting the urge to lie back down.

He sniffed loudly and tried to leave only to be blocked by an incredibly distressed Canada.

"I'm sorry if I pried, but I really think it's in your best interest if you stayed."

"Dude, you're making a big deal out of nothing. I'm fine; it's probably just a strong cold front or something. I'll come back on another day and we can hang out then, alright?"

Canada had no intentions of letting his brother run around in a blizzard when he was sick, especially if he was in denial.

"One thing first, take your temperature. If it's just a cold front then you shouldn't have a fever.

"I'm fine."

"Then it shouldn't be an issue."

Canada flashed a triumphant smile as America reached out for the thermometer in Canada's hand. Canada's expression was quickly replaced with a look of apprehension as America popped it into his mouth. America tried to look as annoyed as possible without coughing again. The room was starting to spin and it was getting harder to multitask. As soon as the digital device beeped America began hacking violently, the thermometer falling to the ground. Canada reacted quickly and caught the swaying, coughing country before he hit the floor. America still hadn't stopped choking, he was getting dangerously flushed and his cough quickly went from productive to wheezy.

Canada led America back to the make shift bed the best he could and nearly tumbled backwards when he finally lowered the bulky country down. Only now was America finally gaining control over his cough, taking quick hoarse breaths. Canada regarded America with alarm; he hadn't ever seenhis brother like this. He quickly reached for the fallen thermometer. With dread Canada looked to the little digital display screen.

"That's not good..."


End file.
